Bible Strands
Jeremiah 32:36
Now therefore, about this city of which you say, ‘It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and famine and plague,’ this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah speaks to King Zedekiah while imprisoned, directly addressing the king’s assertion that Jerusalem will fall to Babylon through sword, famine, and plague. The Lord delivers the message through the prophet to counter the ruler’s despairing assessment of the siege.
The words — The opening phrase וְ/עַתָּ֕ה לָ/כֵ֛ן כֹּֽה־אָמַ֥ר (ve./'a.Tah la./Khen koh- 'a.Mar) translates literally as “and now therefore thus says,” functioning as a formal prophetic introduction. The preposition אֶל־ (el-) here carries the sense of “concerning” or “about,” anchoring the subsequent declaration specifically to the city’s condition.
The thread — The explicit mention of sword, famine, and plague as the instruments of delivery into Babylon’s hands repeats the language of Jeremiah 32:24 and 32:28. The immediate context in Jeremiah 32:37 shifts the narrative from judgment to the promised gathering of the people, establishing a sequential link between destruction and restoration.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept that the stated mechanism of judgment is definitive and not negated by human anxiety. It demands a straightforward acknowledgment that divine declaration of ruin precedes any subsequent promise of return, without allowing the latter to erase the former.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And now therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 32:3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying like this? You claim that the LORD says, ‘Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.
- Jeremiah 32:24 See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!
- Jeremiah 32:28 Therefore this is what the LORD says: Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it.
- Isaiah 43:24 You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.
- Isaiah 57:17 I was enraged by his sinful greed, so I struck him and hid My face in anger; yet he kept turning back to the desires of his heart.
- Jeremiah 16:12 And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me.
- Ezekiel 36:31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.
- Hosea 2:14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly.
- Romans 5:20 The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
- Ephesians 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.